Principal Investigators' Perceptions on Factors Associated with Successful Recruitment in Clinical Trials

Area of Science:

• Clinical research
• Trial management

Background:

• Participant recruitment is a significant challenge for randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
• This challenge leads to increased costs, longer trial durations, and delayed access to new treatments.
• Factors like study design and sponsor influence recruitment success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess principal investigators' (PIs) perceptions of participant recruitment success factors.
• To identify effective and inefficient recruitment strategies from the PI perspective.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was administered to sixteen PIs.
• Thematic analysis was used for free-text responses to understand PI perceptions.

Main Results:

• Study site involvement and funding source were not perceived as definitive factors for recruitment ease or difficulty.
• Commonly used recruitment methods, such as in-person recruitment and electronic medical record (EMR) prescreening, were identified as effort-inefficient.
• PIs highlighted the need for improved operational support and better use of technology.

Conclusions:

• Current recruitment strategies may not be optimal, despite widespread use.
• Recommendations include enhancing staff support and implementing informatics-driven approaches.
• These actionable steps can help clinical researchers improve participant recruitment in RCTs.